I'll wait, so show me why you're strong

[isafraid]

[And so the day's trial for the attempted murder of Gabriel Knight draw to a close with... charitably better results then usual.

They were alive, at the least, but that didn't mean there wasn't several blows against the trust that had been built up here. One mole that attempted murder, another that quit, and another that was given the offer no doubt put strain on several relationships... most notably Sigrun's.

It was all, in a word... frankly shitty. But now it's all out there, no sense in trying to get it back.

An hour (or two) after the "trial" ends and everyone's gone off on their own business, Speedwagon heads back to the kitchen. It was the usual plan in mind, what they did after every trial. And everyone, regardless of what was said or done, would soon find a note being slipped under their door.]

[Name],
There's gonna be food in the dining hall, in case anyone's got an appetite for it.
I know some might want to be alone after that mess of an investigation, but if you don't then the offer's as open as it's always been.
I'd say sticking together might still be safer then not.

-R E.O. Speedwagon

[And yes, folks that arrive in the dining hall will find a nice spread of sandwiches, soup, and what leftovers Speedwagon could scrounge out of the fridge. Speedwagon isn't the best cook in the group, but there's definitely stuff here that's good enough to eat.

...Sigrun's 'masterpiece' was, thankfully, left out of this. Keeping folks alive is the goal, after all.]

Comments

[cherryblooded]

[Cherryblod spends a long, long time in his room with Yosuke.

But eventually, he leaves, and returns to the others. First things first, he grabs a dish towel and some ice from the kitchen. After rolling up his sleeve, he starts to ice the bruise forming on his left shoulder.

He occasionally takes breaks from icing it to actually take a bite of his sandwich.]

[notjustawriter]

[Gabriel stays throughout the entire "trial", and by the time he leaves, he just looks exhausted.

He'll be eating one of the sandwiches, though, because not eating after that mess just wouldn't be wise. They've made it through a week without anyone dying, and even if it had been a near miss on his part, he's still grateful. He doesn't look like he's in particularly good spirits, but he has a bottle of Advil next to him and a large glass of water-- if nothing else, he's not horribly tense right now.]

[captainobnoxious]

[Well, Black isn't leaving her side any time soon, so expect to find him in all the places she is too!

... Before the dinner they're invited to, Sigrun and Black are in Room 13, because it helped last week to calm her head and because she's going through Mettaton's stuff after starting a letter, leaving it aside to collect all the written information he left behind.

She was right in thinking that most of it was on his dead as fuck phone.

A quick stop up in the chapel to deposit her finished letter and the multitude of unfinished ones she'd taken from Mettaton's sketchbook and she'll take Black to dinner.

Though they're notably sitting away from others in the dining hall, it isn't like there's no room for company if... anyone wants to talk to either of them, though Sigrun doesn't think anyone particularly will. She's busy eating and keeping an eye on Black as he scribbles in his notebook, not thinking that anyone'll want to talk to them either.]

[cherryblooded]

Can you spare one of those?

[He means the Advil - this bruise really does hurt, it's just that he's good at pushing past pain when he has to.]

pre-'party'/locked to Cherryblod

[garudynamic]

[He walks to Cherry's room without a word, Blooky's headphones still hanging crooked and broken from his head, twisting the the frayed cord around his own fingers over and over- mimicking how Gabriel almost died.

When Cherry let's him in he doesn't even take off his shoes, instead just crawling into his bed, and putting the pillow over his head, knees pulled up to his chest until he's as small a fetal ball he can manage with his long legs]

dining hall

[cherryblooded]

Hello, captain.

[Don't mind Cherryblod just icing his shoulder. His bruised shoulder. From the punch you gave him.

He certainly doesn't seem mad, though.]

How are you holding up, all things considered?

[notjustawriter]

[He manages a weak smile, and then hands the bottle to Cherryblod.]

That looks like a nasty bruise.

[cherryblooded]

[Cherryblod is quiet as he sits down on the bed next to Yosuke, not touching him just now because he doesn't know how much Yosuke would appreciate it.]

...Take as long as you need, my dear. I'm not going anywhere.

[cherryblooded]

Our captain is nothing if not talented.

[He'll only take one pill, which he then downs with his own glass of water before returning the bottle to Gabriel.]

[captainobnoxious]

[... Well, if anyone was gonna talk to her, it'd be him. She gives his shoulder a glance before looking away.]

Fine, for the most part. My dignity's about as wounded as your shoulder is, so mind if we call it even or do you want to get one in on me too?

[Because she'll allow it.]

Not at the afterparty

[sleepingkogoro]

[Mouri is not in good mood.

It'll be the first time he won't go to the Afterparty. In the other weeks, no matter what happened, everyone could count with seeing him there.

Today it is different. He receives Speedwagon's note, only crumpling it in his hands and throwing it against the wall.

If you somehow miss his presence in the afterparty feel free to come to Room #2 and try to talk to him. Let yourself be warned: he probably is going to be angry with you, no matter who you are. Some aren't going to have as many faults as others, but eh. So if you feel like getting some bitterness directed on you go ahead and knock on his door]

[cherryblooded]

Said it was forgiven and it's forgiven. Nothing that won't heal up.

[...Might take a week or two.]

[notjustawriter]

[Gabriel nods, frowning to himself.]

Today was an awful mess, to put it gently.

....but I'm glad nobody had to die.

[captainobnoxious]

[...]

Keep it iced and a bruise like that won't take more than a week. Take a seat, I'll tell you what we decided.

[garudynamic]

[He makes a vague noise- indicating he heard him. But other then that he doesn't move or respond for almost half an hour. Cherryblod would be forgiven for thinking he fell asleep from pure exhaustion.

Until his back finally starts to move- hiccuping jerks and trembles. The pillow and his own pride hide most of it, but it's clear what's finally happening.]

[cherryblooded]

That's the most important thing, isn't it?

I'm not one to talk about justice, but I know that what we normally do on Fridays isn't it. This is better.

[cherryblooded]

[Cherryblod moves then - there's no father who won't upon seeing their child cry. He lightly strokes Yosuke's back, murmuring again.]

Just let it all out.

[cherryblooded]

[He has a seat next to her.]

How'd it go?

[notjustawriter]

It ain't justice, it's just murder. At least this way, Black got a say in what happens to him.

[His hand moves up to touch his throat gingerly.]

...if only we had been able to do something like this sooner.

[cherryblooded]

...If only. Too late for that now, but it would have been nice.

[He'd be happy to still have Caren, or Yato, or most of the others still around.

Mettaton goes without saying.]

[captainobnoxious]

[She tilts her head towards the hard at work Black.]

Fairly well. He's compiling all his notes and things he's learned about the bastard right now for us, but he's not getting his phone back after that. I'm keeping it. Probably. He's also staying in my line of sight at all times, minus the bathroom.

[She'll give him that privacy at least.]

Which means he's my new sleeping buddy too. Indefinitely. No one's locking him up, which is good, and we all came to this decision without quarrel.

[What else...]

I ended up deciding to search Mettaton's room since... you know, since he was working with the bastard too, and there wasn't much but sentimental stuff. Everything important was on his phone like I thought it might be.

[garudynamic]

[Oh he does- at Cherry's touch the muffled cries, though still muffled, only get louder. Like he had been waiting for permission. He squeezes the pillow tighter, like he intends to suffocate himself.

But, even though it had been suggested that Cherry take all the knives there's really no worry of that. He might feel like he wants to die right now, but Yosuke is not real risk to himself. Instead he just screams into the stuffing, over and over until his voice gives out. And more after that too]

[cherryblooded]

Sounds like you all handled things just fine without me. Knew you would.

[...he's really glad to hear about the bathroom thing.]

[cherryblooded]

[Cherryblod knows he's not - and he wasn't going to take those knives anyway. What if someone else had attacked Yosuke? That's much more likely than Yosuke harming himself intentionally.

He keeps rubbing Yosuke's back, long after Yosuke's screamed until his voice went raw.

He'd say 'it's alright' but he knows it's really not, so all he can do is be here.]

[notjustawriter]

...Maybe there's a way to save their ghosts.

I wouldn't mind having a look at the library in my family's castle right about now. There's probably some sort of ritual in one of them about sending stuck spirits off to whatever the next stage of life is.

We just have to get to them before the Kingmaker does.